The founding fathers of this once great county realized long ago that free and unrestrained press and media were a key component to the welfare of this nation. In every great crisis that this country has faced, newspapers and other news outlets have served a vital function in alerting the general public to serious threats to this country. The Tampa-bay media outlets have done an excellent job of covering the serious problems that exist in this foreclosure crisis and now national media outlets are starting to follow their lead and cover these problems.
The chief judges in the Sixth Judicial Circuit which is Pinellas and Pasco County, and the Twelfth Judicial Circuit which is Sarasota and Manatee County are working hard to ensure that abuses of the court process do not go unchecked. It is no coincidence at all that the media markets with the best reporters in the state, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, have court systems that are taking the lead statewide in exposing the serious deficiencies in the foreclosure courtrooms.
In sophisticated media markets, the foreclosure debate has shifted from a knee jerk reaction that this is about borrowers who want to avoid their responsibilities to a more thoughtful consideration of the serious fault lines this crisis exposes and the long term consequences this disaster is having on our nation.
Please read this morning’s Sarasota Tribune for the latest example of this important phenomena and here for South Florida Business Review. Kudos once again to Ice Legal and Ralph Fisher for the most excellent work they are doing to protect us all!
